Undergarment



Nov. 17, 1931. l.. F. MONYPENNY UNDERGARMENT Filed Apil 25, 1929Patented Nov. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PAT-ENT OFFICE LOUIS FORDEMONYPENNY, 0F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA,`AVSSIGNOR TO MONYPENNY BROS.LIMITED, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA UNDERGARMENT Application led April23, 1929, Serial No. 357,521, Vand in Canada May 18, 1928.

My invention relates to improvements in undergarments and relates moreparticularly to union garments, and one of the objects of the invention(whether the garment he provided with buttons or not) is to provide forthe necessary elasticity both vertically through the center of the backparticularly in a line with the crotch, and to some extent horizontallywithout using an elastic waist band, thereby enabling me to extend theopening in the back of the garment right up to the waist line which is apoint markedly higher than is reached with garments of this class thatare provided with an elastic waist band, and so provide the maximumopening in the seat of the garment without subjecting the garment torupturing strain, notwithstanding the posture of the wearer. Anotherobject of the invention is to connect the lower portion of the elasticmaterial used in the back of the garment to the upper portion of theseat of the garment in a particular manner so that the said elasticmaterial will be united with the garment at the place where it issubjected to the greatest strain without any possibility of the samebeing cut or torn in use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a garment of theclass set forth (and this isv to be construed as applying to a garmentof the type specifically illustrated in the drawings forming part ofthis specification, or to undergarments provided with partial or fulllength sleeves and legs) which can be worn and permit the wearer allnecessary bodily movements witliout subjecting the garmentto anyrupturing strain, and one that can be more cheaply manufactured withoutsacrificing quality than competing garments, and in the followingspecification and the drawingsforrning part thereof I shall describe andillustrate my preferred form of invention and a modification thereof,and what I claim as new will be set forth'in the claim forming part ofthis specification.

Figs.` 1 and 2 illustrate a rear view of a garment to which my inventionis applied, Fig. 1 showing the garment complete, and Fig. 2 showing thefirst step in sewing the reinforcing band in place'. ig. 3 is a verticalcentral longitudinal section, on a greatly enlargedscale, on the line33, Fig. l. Fig. 4 isa horizontal cross section on the line Fig. 1, on agreatlyenlarged scale. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the upper portion of theback of the gaiment'showing a modification hereinafter more particularlyreferred to, and Fig. 6 is a vertical section, on a greatly enlargedscale, on the lineG-, Fig. 1.

In the drawings, like characters of reference refer to the same parts.

In various makes of undergarments of the class set forth elastic webbingis inserted in the back of the garment', and also elastic webbing isinserted at the waist band. vI have found from exhaustive experimentsthat elastic webbing at the waist band necessarily curtails the verticalheight of the opening in the seat because said webbing invariablyextends some distance below 'the waist line. Now in order that thegarment benot subj ected to rupturing strain particularly when thewearer assumes a sitting posture with the opening inthe seat fullyextended, it is necessary that thetop of said opening be extendedsubstantially to the waist line, and that the necessary elasticityrequired in the back of the garment under the conditions noted, shall beprovided solely by the elastic insert in the back of the garment, andthe'width ofthe bottom of said insert must be such as to extend aconsiderable distance beyond both sides of a central line passingvertically through the crotch, because while the greatest extension ofthe garment at the back is substantially in the direction of said line,extension also occurs at both sides of said line because the upperportions offthe interior and posterior. aps are sewn to the lower partof the elastic insert forr some distances at each side of said verticalline. Therefore it follows that the width of the lower portion of saidelastic insert to provide a garment having the wearingV comfort of inygarment must be wider than the overlapping upper ends of said iiaps.

2 and 3 are the two-body parts of the rear of the garment, and 4 and 5are the two-rear leg parts. Y

The front of the garment is not illustrated, but may be of the usualconstruction and parts, and these are joined tothe parts illustrated inany manner well-known in the art.

6 is the interior flap and 7 the posterior flap. As will be seen fromFigs. 1 and 2, and particularly Fig. 3, the upper portions of the saidflaps overlap and upon referring to Fig. 2 particularly it will be seenthat these upper portions extend substantially equal distances beyondeach side of the central line 8 passing longitudinally centrally throughthe garment and bisecting substantially the crotch.

9 is the insert made of elastic material which extends from the waistline to the neck. The sides of this insert are `coupled to the bodyparts 2 and 3 in any well-known manner, preferably by using a two-needlemachineL (see Fig. 4). The neck end of the insert is preferably turnedinwardly as shown at 10, and a facing or binding 111s secured thereoveras shown clearly in Fig. 3. The lower edge portion of the insert 9 issuitably secured to the upper portion of the rear leg parts 4: and 5,and my preferred construction for this purpose consists in binding thesaid lower edge 12 between the upper portions 18 of the rear leg parts 4and 5 and the inturned hem 14 thereof, which inturned hem rests incontact with the inserti9. vWhere the upper portions of said rear legpartse and 5 overlap. as shown in Fig. 3, the upper portion of theposterior flap 7 encloses the parts illustrated in Fig. 6, and the hem14; of said posterior flap rests in contact with the insert 9. The partsdescribed are united preferably by a two-needle machine, thus making thetwo lines of parallel stitchings 15 and 16. In vpractice I have foundthat the .insert 9 when .united to the upper portions of the rear legparts l and 5 as described will not stand the strain to which thegarment is subjected, and therefore the -lower portion of said insertmust have a reinforcing connection with said rear leg parts. Thisreinforcement is preferably in the form of a piece of tape 17. Inapplying the same, it is sewn by the stitching 18 of a single-needlemachine to the waist band 19 as shown in Fig. 2. The ends of the tape 17are turned in, and the reinforcement moved into the position shown inFig. 1, and the free iongitudinaledge c thereof turned under and sewn'inplace by the stitching 20 of a single-needle machine. 22 is thestitching attaching the ends of the reinforcement in place. i

Figs. 1 and 3 show clearly that the stitchings 18 and 20 are spaced aconsiderable distance apart: in other words, the said reinforcementoverlaps well the extreme lower portion of the insert 9. Only one lineof single stitching 20 passes transversely through the insert 9, andtherefore when said insert is elongated, the strain is divided betweenthe stitchings 15, 16, 18, 20 and 22, and consequently the threads inthe weave of the insert 9 are not subjected torupturing strain.

As before-mentioned, the reinforcement or tape 17 is sewn in place bymeans of a singleneedle machine, and this machine is so adjusted thatthe length of the stitches will be longer than the stitches of thetwo-needle machineso that there will be substantially no severing orcutting of the fibres of the insert 9 by reason of these longer stitchesthat would materially weaken or impair the strength of the said insert.

It will be understood by one skilled in the art, that the ribs or walesof the insert 9 eX- tend substantially parallel with the waist band 19.c

IV prefer to shape the insert 9 substantially like the inverted letterV, because this shape obviates the use of an insert shaped for eX-ample, like that shown in Fig. 5 where the material between the dottedVlines a. and the full lines 7) appears to be unnecessary to the fullcomfort of the wearer. Particularly in iarm weather, the lesser theamount of elastic material 9 (which of course is preferably knittedgoods) in contact with the body, th greater comfort will the wearerexperience. But it must be understood that I do not confine myself toany particular shape of insert in the back of the type of garment hereinreferred to which will function after the manner herein disclosed.

For the purposes of this specification, in Fig. 3, I have shown thestitchings 16, and 18 as spaced apart, though in practice, the stitching18 may lie over the stitching 1 6 as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

It is evident that I have disclosed in the specification and thedrawings forming part thereof a new principle in constructing garmentsof the class set forth in that I show clearly that provided the lowerportion of the elastic insert extends beyond the attached upper portionsof the interior and posterior fl aps, that elastic bands can bedispensed with, because the said insert performs the additional functionof said elastic bands, and therefore it is bi-functional in character.In other words, I have to the extent indicated, reorganized thecomponent parts of a garment of the class set forth resulting in agarment of a lesser number of parts which possesses all of thefunctional value of the greater number of parts conposing garmentsofthis character heretofore invented. and have reduced the cost ofmanufacture of this type of garment as a result without any impairmentin quality, but with a most marked improvement in wearing comfort.

Obviously rany suitable or well-known method of building a garmentembracing thc `principle'of that herein disclosed may be carried outwithout departing from the scope of the appended claim. Y

I do not confine myself to using the reinforcement 17, because furtherexperiment may enable me to secure a suitable elastic material for theinsert that will not cut orV pull away where it is attached to theupperf portions of the rear leg parts.

Nor do I confine myself to extending the 5 insert 9 or its equivalentright up to the neck' band, because garments worn by persons of" slightbuild are not required to stretch in the` back to the saine extent asthose worn by stoutv persons. l

10 The elastic insert located as I use it keeps-v the flaps normallyclosed, so consequently there is no buckling or Wrinkling of these partsto cause inconvenience to the wearer.

What I claim as my invention is 15 A union garment of the characterdescribed,

comprised of relatively inelastic fabric having an uppercentrally-divided body portion, rear leg parts secured at their upperportions to said body portion, each leg part being pro- 20 vided with aflap forming an opening in the seat of the garment, one of saidHaps'overlapping the other, the -[iaps being of substantially triangularformation with their wider ends disposed at the tops thereof adjacent g5the Waist line of the garment, an elastic insert extendinglongitudinally of the upper body portion with its side edges divergingdownwardly and said side edges connected to the edges of the dividedportions of said body portion, a connection between the lower edge ofthe insert and adjacent edges of the leg parts, the width of the loweredge of the insert being such as to extend beyond the outer ends of theoverlapping seat flaps, and a rei inforcing element extendingtransversely across the back and united at its lower edge to the upperportions of the leg parts at the waist line and united at its upper edgeto said insert and the ends of the reinforcement being secured toinelastic portions of the garment.

LOUIS FORDE MGNYPENNY.

